Solar Development Incentive

The 2016 Legislature created the Solar Development Incentive (SDI) to encourage the development of solar energy projects in Oregon by providing a cash incentive per kilowatt-hour (kWh) of electricity generated to owners of photovoltaic (PV) energy systems with a nameplate capacity of between 2 and 10 megawatts-alternating current output capacity (MWac). Qualified projects enrolled in the program can receive a monthly payment of $0.005 per kWh of electricity generated, for a period of five years. This is a one-time enrollment incentive program that closed on January 2, 2017, and is no longer accepting applications.

Selected Projects

Business Oregon approved 20 utility-scale solar energy projects to enroll in the new Solar Development Incentive program. The 20 projects represent 148.5MW of the total 150MW capacity and are mostly located in central, southern, and eastern Oregon. Learn more about the project awards >>

Below are high-level details about the projects that applied:

  • 55 applications received, 53 of which were eligible
  • 293 MW of projects applied, 283 MW were eligible
  • Applicatons from 11 different solar developers from across the country
  • Applications' project geography was diverse and included the following regions
    • South Central (12 projects, 99 MW)
    • Central (5 projects, 50 MW)
    • Greater Eastern, North (2 projects, 8 MW)
    • Greater Eastern, South (7 projects, 45 MW)
    • Mid-Valley (17 projects, 44 MW)
    • Metro (6 projects, 15 MW)
    • Northeast (1 project, 12 MW)
    • Southern (1 project, 10 MW)
    • Greater Eastern, North (2 projects, 8 MW)

Eligibility

A solar PV system was eligible if it:

  • is located in Oregon
  • has a nameplate capacity between two and 10 megawatts as measured in alternating current (MWac)
  • has a commercial operations date, as specified in a power purchase agreement, of January 1, 2016, or later
  • is either
    • directly connected to the electrical system of an investor-owned utility or publicly-owned utility, or
    • indirectly connected to the electrical system of an investor-owned utility or publicly-owned utility in a manner that Business Oregon determines acceptable for program enrollees
  • has a revenue grade meter or other device that monitors and measures the quantity of energy generated by the solar PV energy system
  • meets any other siting, design, interconnection, installation, and electric output standards required by Oregon laws.
  • The program enrollee, including any business affiliated with the program enrollee, has not and will not exceed a 35MWac cumulative nameplate capacity of projects enrolled in the program.

Before enrolling eligible projects, Business Oregon worked with the Oregon Department of Energy to identify projects that, if not already generating electricity, were likely to begin generating electricity no later than January 2, 2018.

The SDI Handbook is intended to provide information about the program intent, applicability, and participation. For more information, program rules can be found in Oregon Administrative Rules (OAR) 123.093. In the event that there is a discrepancy between language found in the Handbook and OAR 123.093, the language in OAR 123.093 overrides language in the Handbook.